A Regret Message
by Cherry Blossom's Age
Summary: When Sasuke's curse causes him to loose control, he accidentally hurts Sakura causing her to loose her ability to see. Sasuke then starts avoiding her, feeling that she might say she hates him. Secrets from the past are uncovered as Sasuke struggles to find it in his heart to speak to the girl he almost killed...
1. Experiences

**A Regret Message**

**1st Chapter: Experiences**

Team 7 was in the middle of another escort mission without Kakashi. They were taking an elder jonin couple from their village, the Land of Mountains, to Konoha. They were going there to give medicine and herbs to Tsunade. With them being very old, Tsunade wanted to make sure they were protected. Kakashi, had been called to an emergency meeting of jonin right as the mission started and left them to it, stating that he'll come to see them after the mission.

Though the couple occasionally chatted once in a while, the trio of genin didn't say a word. The elder mates asked them questions once in a while but it went right back to silence. Even Naruto was very quiet for once, not even saying how boring or lame the mission was. It was surprising but no one was complaining.

Finally ending the ever long silence, the old woman looked back at them. "Are you three alright? You've haven't said a word since we left your village. Is something troubling you?" She questioned worried about them noticing they didn't speak unless spoken too.

"It's nothing, Ma'am, just..." Sakura was about to give the reason when all of their stomachs growled loudly making all three of them flinch. The two seniors gave them each a look of concern. Sakura went red with embarrassment. "Kakashi-Sensei made us skip breakfast and lunch..."

The aged man gave them a look of confusion. "Now why would he do that?"

The pink-haired girl and black-haired Uchiha sent glares towards Naruto, who looked off to the side to avoid them. Sasuke softened his stare to look to the old man. "Naruto lost a bet to him yesterday. He said we all had to suffer as a team."

A sound of understanding came out the couple's of mouths at the same time. The woman looked at the blond with a small smile. "So what was this bet that cost you all your food for today?" She asked out of curiosity.

Naruto looked down ashamed and embarrassed, not wanting to answer the question. "That I could read an entire dictionary in 10 minutes and remember them all word for word." He said softly putting his pointer fingers together and twisting them.

After a few seconds, the couple began laughing making them all give a look of uncertainty. Finally, they stopped and saw their faces. The woman wiped her eyes before smiling and putting a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Sorry about that but our former teammate had made that same bet with our sensei and lost it just like you. Only, she was forced to actually read it while Kaito and I went on a date."

Her husband nodded once in agreement wearing the same smile. "Ah yes! We were about, what 14-years-old when that happened, right, Mami?" He recalled looking towards his wife to confirm with him, which she did by moving her head up and down. "That a while ago."

"_Wow...even from so long ago...they were still in love as they were today. It's kinda hard to believe that they've been able to love each other and stay together for this long with them both being jonin. I wonder if I'll have that type of relationship.." _Sakura's eyes wandered over to Sasuke, who had his eyes closed and hands in his pockets. She sighed sadly. "_Yeah right. Keep dreaming, Sakura. As if that might happen..."_

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound her and her teammates hungry stomachs. They all went blue to face and held a hand to their own stomachs pouting slightly.

"I'm gonna keel over if I don't have some food soon...believe it." Naruto concluded as he stopped walking and crouched down causing the rest of them to stop.

Sasuke shot him a scowl, which sent shivers down both Sakura and Naruto's spines. "Maybe if you shut your mouth for once then we wouldn't be in this scenario. If anything, you should die right there. You loser." Sasuke stated. He was right and everyone knew it.

"Sasuke.." Started Sakura holding her hands up to the Uchiha in defense. "Well even if it is Naruto's fault, it was Kakashi-Sensei who had come up with his side of it." She finished knowing how extreme Sasuke's temper was when it came to their hyper comrade.

"Not the point." Sasuke contradicted gritting his teeth slightly at both of them. "It's the fact that he doesn't know when to shut up that the entire team get punished. Even in missions, that loud-mouthed fool manages to mess the simplest of plans."

Naruto stood and glared at him. His teeth partly showing. "Oh and like you don't make mistakes, Mr. Perfect? So what if I mess up a few times, at least the mission get done!"

"You're still missing the meaning of what I'm saying." Sasuke said simply calming down, resisting the urge to punch Naruto. "They only get done because I have to pick up your mess after you do something stupid. You always want to do things your way without-" He stopped mid-sentence and pulled Mami over to side where 3 shirekan flew and landed in her previous spot. "We've got company."

They heard the sound of foot prints and each pulled out a kunai and went to guard Kaito and Mami. Naruto went on one side and Sakura on another while Sasuke guarded another side. They heard them but no action was being made.

"How many are there?" Naruto wondered not able to make it out due to all of the other sounds. He wanted to make sure it wasn't a bunch.

Sakura adjusted her hearing a bit and tried to listen to all the noises before getting a good amount. "I estimate about 3. One is about to land in the tree in front of Sasuke in 10 seconds and another on that high branch in the same amount of time." She informed them quickly. "Throw kunai at those points...now!"

Sasuke and Naruto threw them instantly. Two flashes fell down to the ground with a thud. They looked around hearing silence but knew there was a 3rd person. Sakura tried to look in the trees and bushes but saw nothing nor did Sasuke or Naruto.

"_Where are they? It's way too quiet. Did he retreat?" _Sasuke thought with a look of annoyance on his face. His eyes widened when he heard a noise. It was almost like... "A smoke bomb!"

As his sentence finished, the bomb clashed with the ground sending black smoke everywhere. They all coughed as it filled their lungs. Sasuke pulled Mami out with him while Naruto grabbed Kaito. The fume vanished and they saw that nothing was there.

A realization hit both of the shonobi at once when they saw that their previous spot was empty. "Where's Sakura?"

They heard a small scream which they recognized as Sakura's. Turning in the direction they heard it from, they saw her being held at kunai point by a man with dark yellow eyes and gray hair. He was tall and from their angle. Her feet were off the ground with both of her hands behind her back while his arm was around her neck holding a kunai at it.

"Oh, so your name is Sakura?" His scratchy but deep voice said, giving her look that made Sasuke and Naruto glare hard at him. He whiffed her hair and a let out a breath. "You smell just like your name. Beautiful."

"Put her down." Naruto stated threateningly, clutching the kunai tightly. "I said put her down!"

"And why would I do that?" The man teased with a low sinister chuckle. Sakura wiggled a bit in his grasp but his hold was too tight.

Kaito looked at him, adjusting his glasses. A glare appeared on his face along with his wife. "Leave the girl be, Taro."

Sasuke stayed focused on the man in front of them holding his teammate captive. The name from Kaito made him wonder about his identity. "Who is this?"

"Taro Akita, the Lion of the Mountains. He is a man who is sick to head. He comes to our village and raids our food supply, damages our crops, and worst of all, kidnaps young girls." Mami explained briefly staring at man with a look of disgust. "Kaito and I have been hunting him down for decades. Ever since he abducted and killed our teammate."

"You're still going on about Suzuko? You guys can really hold a grudge." Taro closed his eyes before opening them again to send a powerful smirk at them. "It's not I wanted to kill her. I mean, she was gorgeous but she wasn't my type. Just like those other ones." He gazed at Sakura with a look of wanting. "How about you, Sakura? What do you taste like?"

Once Sasuke heard the phrase, something inside him snapped. A dark aura danced around him as his cursed mark lit up and started appearing over his body. He began clenching his kunai so hard that it made it crack slightly. He looked at Naruto from the side with a straight face. "Stay here and guard them. I'm ending this."

Sakura's emerald eyes got big with fear and concern. She didn't want Sasuke to go wild like he had done before. From the look his eyes, which now held the red sharingan, Sakura knew that he wasn't fully in control. "Sasuke...!"

Before she could finish, Taro tightened his grasp around her throat as he backed away slightly from the anger filled boy walking towards him. "Stay back!" He shouted at him. "I-I'll kill her! I swear I will-"

Sasuke shadowed behind him making him freeze instantly. A smirk appeared on Sasuke's face, as Taro turned slightly to look at him. "You'll what?" Sasuke asked simply. Not even waiting for a response, Sasuke delivered a kick to his side, forcing him to let go of Sakura. She fell to the ground trying to regain so air in her lungs as he went farther to the side.

Naruto ran to her side. "Are you alright, Sakura?" He inquired as he looked at her with concern. She coughed a bit before looking at him seriously.

"We gotta stop him or Sasuke's gonna kill him." She stood up and ran towards him with Naruto behind her. "Sasuke, you gotta stop!"

The Uchiha ignored her pleas and picked up Taro by his shirt with his Chidori coating his right hand which also held the kunai. A dark smile still on his face as he watched his prey squirm in his grasp. The scared expression on Taro's face only fueled his power.

"Mercy! Mercy! Have mercy on me!" Taro cried out in fear of his life. "I'm sorry! I'll leave the village alone! I won't touch another woman! Just please don't kill me! Have mercy, I beg you!"

His look got worst when he heard Sasuke's low and monstrous laugh. Soon it stopped but his grin remained as if it was stuck. "Sorry but that word isn't in my dictionary." He went to put the Chidori knife through his body when his right arm paused. He tried again and his smile melted in a frown after seeing that Naruto and Sakura were holding it back.

"Sasuke, snap out of it! This isn't right and you know it!" Said Naruto struggling to hold his friend's hand back while also avoiding the spark from his lightning covered hand.

Sasuke turned his head to face the blond-haired jinchuriki. "This doesn't concern you!" He used his elbow to knock him in head making him stumble back holding his face in pain while Sakura got a few steps. He was about to try again when another hold stopped him. This time belonging to Sakura. "Why won't you let me end his pitiful life?"

"This is not something the Sasuke I know would do! Sasuke, please don't let this happen again!" She justified on the brink of tears staring at him while holding on his arm tightly. "Please don't turn into that monster!"

He looked at her with a bit of shock and confusion as she tried to protect the man who just held her captive not even a few minutes before. His anger was blinding his sense of reason along with curse mark holding lots of power. The words from the curse echoing in his mind as his glare got harder and harder. Finally, he

went almost crazy and got his arm loose from her hold.

"Leave me alone!" He shouted out, slicing his Chidori at her direction. She was too shocked to move as Naruto recovered just in time to see the kunai slice over her eyes and part of her hand making blood fly and her cry of pain. Sasuke's curse resided instantly when he saw what he had done. Both of the boy's eyes widened, as she hit the ground twitching.

"Sakura!" Sasuke called, dropping his now blood stained kunai along with the now unconscious Taro,who had fainted from shock, as he went to pick her up. She flinched at his touch which made him feel like dieing right there in then. Kaito rushed over and placed his jacket over her and picked her up while Sasuke stayed on the ground looking down.

"If I'm correct, your village shouldn't be that far. We need to hurry." Kaito stated looking at his protectors. "If one of you, hurry ahead you can go get help. Mami and I may not be fast but we can still move ahead as fast as we could."

"I'll go." Naruto spoke up instantly. He sent a worried and hated look towards Sasuke before turning to Kaito. "Please, take care of them." With that, Naruto ran off at lightning speed before either could respond.

Sasuke was in so much shock that he wasn't even breathing right. He had just almost killed his teammate after she tried to help him. His eyes fell on the kunai that had her blood on it and his mind wandered to her sudden flinch when he tried to touch to her. That had to have made him feel worst of all...

"Sasuke, we must hurry. She's losing lots of blood." Mami said shaking him as she saw how pale he had gotten. She noticed that the light had left his eyes shook him harder. "Sasuke!"

Her calls were echoing in his mind as his consciousness tilted back in forth. Everything around him started to go white and his hearing faded. To him, the air was so humid that breathing was getting harder but at the same time he felt himself shaking. Sasuke's body hit the ground and he was still trying to breathe but instead it felt as if it was being taken away.

* * *

Next thing Sasuke knew, he was in a hospital room facing the ceiling. His breathing had returned to normal and everything was no longer bright white. Sitting up, a memory appeared in his head playing it over multiple times. His unwilling attempt to kill Sakura was plaguing his mind since it had happened. A voice started talking to him again making, him hold his curse mark.

"_Do you see what you are capable of? Your power was strong enough to almost kill that girl. Just imagine how much stronger you could be with more power. More than you could ever imagine._" The snake-like voice tried tempting him. A part of Sasuke was curious while everything else is his body was doing it's best to block it out. The 'so called' power had almost made him kill his teammate after he vowed to protect them.

3 knocks were heard on the door making the voice immediately shut and the curse mark stop. The door slid open and he saw that it was Kakashi and Tsunade. They went to the end of the bed while he stared down.

"So you're finally awake. It's about time. You've been sleep for days." Tsunade remarked putting her hand on her hips with a half smile. "I was getting worried."

"What happened to me?" Sasuke questioned not looking at her. He was curious sense he didn't remember coming here or even getting in the village. Another question came to mind and he looked to his Sensei for the answer with a concerned yet scared look. "Where's Sakura?"

"Relax. Apparently from what Ms. Mami said, you started having a panic and heart attack at the same time. It's a miracle you survived because it's rare those two things happen at once." Kakashi informed him with his classic one eyed smile. "That might partly be from the fact that you didn't eat anything all day but I guess I let that punishment slide."

Sasuke clenched his covers tightly as a scowl appeared on his face. His second question was being avoided and that was the reason he had it. "Where is Sakura?" He asked raising his voice slightly just to make sure they heard him and answered. When he got silence for a response, Sasuke started to think the worst. The scowl vanished into a pure frightened expression as he stared at the hokage and jonin. "What happened to her?"

"Sasuke, she's blind." Tsunade told him after seconds of debating with herself on either to tell him or not but the look on his face she already knew that the mistake had already been made. He was shaking again and his eyes were wide. She decided not to tell him the details thinking he would probably have another heart attack.

"I-I..." He started to say but the shock was already starting to overcome his entire body. He blinded her. He tried to help him and he repaid her by taking away her eye sight. If that wasn't enough to give him heart attack then he rather stab it himself. "I blinded her..."

"Naruto told me what happened and I want to ensure you that it wasn't your fault." Kakashi tried to convince him but it was failing horribly. He knew the Uchiha well enough to know that he would take that news to heart. After all, Sasuke did do it himself.

"Don't you dare say it's not my fault!" Sasuke almost shouted, knowing fully well that it was his fault. He was the one who had the kunai and he was the one lost his temper and injured her. It was him who had almost killed her. "I took away her eye sight and you want to act like I didn't do it. I know I did it and so does she..."

The two adults looked at him with pity. He was really messed up about this. Kakashi was stumped on what more he could say before giving a Tsunade and glance. Tsunade caught and got an idea. "Would you like to go see her?" She asked hoping that he'd say yes but he answered in a low voice that she didn't hear but sounded like a no. "What did you say?"

"I said no." Sasuke spoke up loosening his grip on the blankets but his answer still surprised them. His eyes fell onto his hands with a grim look. "When I tried to help her..she flinched when I touched her. She's probably afraid of me but I wouldn't blame her because I'm the one who took away her ability to see. To her, I'm a monster."

Before Tsunade could disagree with him, Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. She nodded and sighed softly. She turned her had to the depressed boy with her own sad look. "You'll be able leave in the afternoon. Just make sure to let the front desk know." She walked out the room followed by Kakashi who shut the door after him.

Sasuke fell back and covered his eyes with his arms and fought the urge to scream his lungs out.

* * *

Sakura was walking out the hospital with Naruto leading her. Since she couldn't see, Naruto was instructed to take her home and wait until her parents returned. Tsunade had kept it quiet about Sakura's condition so no in village knew. She a gauze over both her eyes and wrap on her hand. Naruto held her hand which she didn't object to.

"Hey, Naruto?" Sakura asked as the walked after being silent since they left. She stopped walking making him stop. A smile found it way to her face. "Can we go the park? I mean...I'm a bit stir crazy and I don't wanna go home yet.

Naruto forced on a pained smile. She still smiling even though her sight had been taken away. He admired about how strong she was and nodded to himself knowing she couldn't see it. "Sure." He answered before walking towards the park at a somewhat fast pace. He didn't know why he was going so fast but slowed once they reached park. He lead her over to swings where he then let go. "Here we are."

She moved her hands around to feel for swings. Once her hand found the seat she seat and moved herself around. "Thank you, Naruto." She told him with her gaze focused down.

"Don't worry. I know you'd do the same for me." Naruto smiled at her but wiped it off after realizing the she wouldn't see it. He sat on the other one. Right as he sat, he heard people.

"Hey, Naruto!" Said Choji grinning as he walked up with his team along with Team 9 and Team Guy.

Ino smiled at her pink-haired rival. "Hello, Sakura." She looked and saw she had the wrapping on her face and her curiosity raised. She arched an eyebrow. "What's up with the mummy look? It isn't very attractive if this is your new way to get Sasuke's attention."

Naruto growled slightly at Ino's comment. Above everything, Sasuke was the very last person he wanted to hear about and saying that about her gauze only made him more angry. Ever since what happened, he hadn't even seen his other teammate knowing that he would probably go mad.

"Yeah, I know. It's something new I'm trying." Sakura put on a sincere smile with a small laugh. Her voice cracked slightly with the laugh that made everyone give a glance of confusion. "So what's up?"

"We're having a small get together and wanted to know if the youthful Team Seven were coming?" Lee asked with his bright grin and thumbs up.

Naruto put his head down dejectedly. He'd had almost forgot that no one else know about Sakura's condition. "Well..."

"Come on. It's gonna be fun! The jonin leaders aren't coming so it just gonna be us!" Kiba tried convincing after hearing the uncertainty in his voice. A little bit of him was confused why Naruto would be so hesitant about it.

Shikamaru crossed his arms casually. "I bet even Sasuke might enjoy it." He added knowing that Ino would want to convince Sakura because of that reason.

Naruto eyes shifted over to Sakura who had clenched her hand on the chain with her head down. He looked up to the teams before realizing how they didn't know how the team really was at the moment. If he had to be honest, he wanted to go and have fun but what would be fun when Sakura wouldn't be able to see it and to his knowledge Sasuke was still in the hospital...

"Isn't that Sasuke right there?" TenTen motioned over to the road with her thumb. Just sure enough, Sasuke was walking at a slow speed with his hands in his pockets and his eyes shut. He had his book bag on which stunned her. "Is he going some-"

"Sasuke! Over here!" Ino cut her off waving like a maniac to grab his attention, not even hearing TenTen's previous comment. "Hey, Sasuke!"

He opened his eyes to see what was calling him and noticed Ino, along with everyone else. His eyes widened when they fell Sakura. Everyone except Naruto followed his gaze to Sakura and got very confused. Sasuke then turned his head and dashed off with saying a word.

"Why did he give Sakura that look?" Neji pondered out loud hoping to receive an answer from either of his comrades who didn't say a word. "Well?"

Instead, Naruto stood and started to walk off, taking Sakura hand as he did but she pulled him making him stop. He turned to see her still sitting. "Sakura..."

She gave him a reassured smile which shocked him to no end. "It's alright, Naruto. Besides they had to find out sometime and there's no time like the present right?" She said making him turn his head off to the opposite direction. Not able to see his face, Sakura motioned her head to the others. "I'm sorry but we won't be able to come because I can't see."

"What do you mean?" Ino asked but slightly in a demanding tone. She was confused about her sentence and partly about why Sasuke ran off after giving her that look which resembled one of fear.

"I mean I can't see. I've been blind ever a few days ago." Sakura explained shortly still holding to her smile. Though her smile was one of sincerity, they had an entire face expression of shock.

"How did that happen? We're you attacked or did you get into an accident?" Lee asked worriedly about her and it showed clearly on his face. "I'll find the person responsible and I'll..." He stopped when he saw the smile on her face and her shake her head softly. "Sakura..."

Sakura's smile didn't alter the slightest. "Lee, that won't change anything. Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'm not dead." She attempted to lightened the mood. Lowering her head, Sakura moved her hands to her lap. "Naruto, why don't you go have some fun? I know how to get to my house from here."

He gave her a surprised glance. "What are you talking about? It's dangerous to be walking home be yourself in your condition. There's no way I'm leaving you alone." He declared, though it sounded weird to himself considering that fact that he always heard someone else saying to that to him.

"I'd knew you would say that." Sakura said in with a small chuckle. Using the chains on the swings to support herself, she stood and put her locked her hands behind her back. "So I'm going to go home now so you can go. Later." She started walking off leaving Naruto dumbstruck by her actions.

The blond-haired boy was about to go after her when someone put a hand on his shoulder. He tuned his head and noticed that it was Hinata, who hadn't said a word since they got here. "Hinata?" He looked at her with confusion as to why she had did that.

"I-I'll go with her, N-Naruto." She told him, going slightly red from touching his shoulder. "I wasn't going a-anyway so you can go on ahead. I-If you want, I can stay w-with her to put you at ease." She offered wiggling her other hand nervously.

Naruto wanted to be with Sakura but didn't want to hurt Hinata feelings by declining her offer. He knew she meant well and was a good choice to stay with her. Taking her hand from his shoulder, Naruto gave her his classic smile. "Thank you, Hinata."

Feeling herself ready to faint, Hinata nodded her head getting redder by the moment. "N-No problem. I'm h-happy to help." She told him before taking her hand back quickly. "B-Bye." She hurried along to catch with Sakura who had got pretty far in the next distance.

Ino smiled and grabbed TenTen's wrist and went to go after them. She turned to looked at the boys. "TenTen and I are going too. You guys have fun!" She shouted at them almost dragging the brown-haired girl with her.

As soon as the girls were gone, Naruto started walking in the almost same direction with hands in his pockets. The others gave him a look. Kiba went to grabbed his shoulder. "Hey, you saw that the girls are going with Sakura. What are you doing?"

"Going to search for Sasuke." Naruto answered simply not turning to look at him. "We have something to talk about and what's a guys night without all the guys here."

Lee almost knocked everyone down to go in front of Naruto with his toothy grin and thumbs ups. "Then we will accompany you and the search for him. That way is will be much faster than doing it alone." He said with a small shine of his teeth.

**Until next time!**

"**You'll never know the pain of a broken heart till you've experience it yourself." **

**- (Cherry)**


	2. Memories

**A Regret Message**

**2nd Chapter: Memories**

Sasuke was laying down on the bench right beside exit to the village. Since a huge oak tree was right above it, it blocked out the sun easily. He had his left arm over his eyes and the other one beside him on top of the wooden bench. He was recalling the night had almost left Konoha but someone was there to stop him.

"_Why don't you ever tell me anything?" Sakura said to him as he walked by her. It was late in the night and no one was around. The perfect chance to leave the village but she appeared like a shadow. "Why won't you ever say anything to me?"_

_Sasuke stopped walking to look at her. He was surprised to see her on the verge of crying. "Why do I have to tell you anything? Stop concerning yourself with what I do." He told her coldly which surprised him to her shift her eyes down._

"_I-I knew it. You've always hated me." She stated softly not looking at him but holding her hands tightly to her dress. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly at her statement. He didn't hate her. Not even the slightest. "That day we had first became genin, you said I was annoying."_

_In his mind, Sasuke cursed at himself. He had almost forgot he had said that but it was honestly hard to forget the look of fright and confusion on her face. That was something he didn't want to see again. "I don't remember."_

"_Yeah, it was awhile ago anyway. But that's the day everything when everything started...you and me...and Naruto and Kakashi-Sensei. The four of us completed a number of missions together. They were tough and a lot of work...but above all, it was fun!" Sasuke knew fully well that she wearing a fake smile but she took it off and moved her head down again. "I know about...about your brother and your clan but...revenge...that won't make anyone happy. Not you...and not me."_

_Sasuke turned around to hide the disdain on his face. She wasn't going to make leaving here easy the slightest... "I'm different from you guys. I walk a different path than you guys. I've thought for a while that I could stay but I choose revenge in the end. That's my purpose in life. I can't be like you or Naruto."_

"_I-I'm so in love with you that I can't even stand it!" She almost shouted at holding her hands at her chest. Sasuke was so glad he was turned around so she wouldn't see how shocked he really was. He knew that she had a crush on him but that type of information would hadn't shocked him so bad considering the situation. "If you stay, I'll make you sure don't regret it! I can give you happiness! Everyday would be a joy! So I'm begging you please to stay here...with me..and if you can't...then please..." She paused for a second and was almost shaking to hold back tears that were falling anyway. "Take me with you, Sasuke!"_

_If anything, Sasuke felt like the biggest dick in the whole universe. What was he supposed to say to that confession? If he had left without saying anything, then he be a dick and if he just said he didn't love her back, then he a be an even bigger and lying dick. He didn't know what he felt for her honestly but it was mostly because he didn't understand his feelings for her..._

_He was about to turn around and say something when he saw her on the ground hugging herself with her head down. The tears from her eyes had made a small puddle because she had cried so much and the moon's reflection wanted to make sure that he saw it. She looked so sad and heartbroken and the confession was probably just so he would stay. Something in his head told me that if he left her like this, then she might just kill herself from the depression. The comment he was about to say had even left his mind before his mouth could say it._

_Sasuke went to her and got on one knee and she looked up to him with her face wet and her emerald eyes twinkling with water. "S-Sasuke..." She started. Before Sasuke could say another word, she went and wrapped her arms around him in a hug causing him to freeze as she spoke. "Please...don't leave me. You don't have to be alone anymore. I-I'll even help you with your revenge. I'll train harder and become stronger so that it could happen. I love you, Sasuke..." She pleaded almost in a whisper. _

_He had no idea what to do or what to say. He was unsure either to hug her back or not. "Sakura..." He began softly but just as he was about to finish she stopped him from talking by pressing her lips gently against his in a kiss. For a short while, he was surprised but then started to kiss back. It felt like about 10 minutes but in reality was a few seconds before they let out. She moved her head down to have him not see the more tears that were falling and her red face. Sasuke decided then and there what he was going to do next. "Thank you...for everything" With that he hit the pressure point in the back of her neck and let her fall into his arms, fast asleep._

_He laid on the bench and was just about leave when she unintentionally grabbed his hand from her slumber. From the pained look on her face, she was having a gruesome nightmare from the few seconds she had been asleep. Guilt started build up inside him as he glanced at the exit once again before looking at the pinkette who was holding his hand. Sasuke let out a breath of air he had held in and got his hand loose. He moved her head so he could sit down. Carefully ,so he wouldn't wake her, Sasuke put her head on his leg. Soon he started dozing off and went to sleep._

_The next morning, he awoke and saw that it was daylight. He felt a stir on his leg and saw that Sakura was still there. Remembering what happened the previous night, Sasuke poked her cheek. She reacted instantly and shot up like a rocket. "Sasuke, no!" She shouted as she did._

"_That must have been one hell of a nightmare you had." Sasuke commented making her look in his direction. He closed his eyes to avoid seeing her shocked face. "I found you passed out here last night so I waited till you woke up."_

"_Y-You did?" Sakura asked halfway unsure. He knew that she was uncertain of that but there was since she was already having a nightmare to begin with, he might as well try his luck. She let out a breath of relief. "I guess your right. I had this horrible nightmare that you wouldn't believe."_

_Sasuke stood putting his hand into his pockets. "I bet. You should go home and get some rest while on our day off. I'm going home." He stated walking away leaving her there without an ounce of evidence about the previous night._

He blew out a puff of air and kept his arm over his head when he heard footsteps coming in his direction. He recognized it easily and still didn't look at him. "What do you want, you loser?"

"How did you know it was me?" Naruto's voice responded immediately in curiosity knowing fully well that he had no way of seeing him. "And besides that, what are you doing here?"

"To answer your first question, you're the only one who hasn't confronted me today. The answer your other question is so that I can't think in peace." Sasuke answered his questions plainly not wanting to be further investigated by his teammate/rival. "Now go away."

"Not a chance. We have to talk but before that I need you to come with me." Naruto stated stuffing his hands into his jacket while looking away. "We're having a guys night and you're not there so let's go."

Sasuke scoffed at his remark "What makes you think I would wanna go? Just leave me alone and go do whatever without me." He told him moving his arm to sit up and look at him.

"You really are guilty about this aren't you?" Naruto asked with a half knowing look. "I haven't seen you reject anything till a few days ago. Are you so jacked up,that you're going to just shut the world out?"

"I shut the world out years ago so nothing that I do now has anything to with it. What happened to Sakura was an accident that I can't take back. Now just go away." Sasuke glared off to the side and looked back to Naruto when he heard him chuckle. "What so funny?"

"I never said what you were guilty about but apparently you do." Naruto sat next to him and folded his hands together. "You know, nobody said it was your fault. You're right it was an accident but your going to eat yourself alive if you don't talk to her."

Sasuke looked at him. "How do you know I haven't talked to Sakura?" It took him a few seconds before remembering that she was just with him at the park. "Actually, I don't even know why I'm talking to you. Like you would understand what I'm going through now.

"No,actually I do." His reply made Sasuke give him a confused look. Naruto kept his gaze down. "You may not remember her because it happened a very long time ago." He reached inside his pocket and pulled out a photograph before handing it to Sasuke, who took it slowly.

It was a picture of him and another person. A girl with the same color hair as Naruto but her hair reached her shoulder-blade and had the same eyes color. She was wearing a black t-shirt with a ruffled orange skirt and black boots. She had a jacket wrapped around her waist which was the same as Naruto's. She was hugging his arm with a smile. She was really pretty. "Who is this?"

"I can't remember her name but I know we...we were related somehow. It's strange but I know why she's not here. I vaguely remember me going out of control too and almost killing her. She was probably sent away so that wouldn't happen again." Naruto explained roughly. "Unlike me, you have the chance to right your wrongs while I don't know who I hurt."

Sasuke saw how down his face went as he talked about the girl in the picture. Part of him felt a bit of sympathy for him. He knew that Naruto had a point but it wasn't helping his decision as much as he wanted. Instead, he puffed a breath of air. "How is she?"

"The same. Even though of what had happened, she acting as if it was a flu. It scares me that she hasn't gotten use to it yet and she thinks that it's a bad dream. I'm not to sure about that and I've held back from asking her." The blond admitted with his voice cracking slightly before going back to normal. "She wants you to talk to her, you know."

"I don't know why. I basically ended her career as a shonobi for the rest of her life. If anything, she wants to say she hates me and wants me to never go near her again." Sasuke assumed putting his hands behind his head.

"You can't prove that. Besides, you know her well enough to know that Sakura would never use those words in a sentence. Especially to you. She loves you." Naruto told him with a bit of hurt found in his voice. "If you only saw how scared and worried she got after you had gotten hurt when I went to find Granny Tsunade. She begged her to heal you. If that isn't love then I don't what is."

After seconds of silence, Sasuke looked to side in thought. Even if he saw her,what was he going to say to her. He wanted to see her but that small chance of her telling her what he thought was holding him back. He turned his head the opposite of Naruto's direction. "So what do you suggest I do?" He inquired almost reluctantly.

"Honestly? I suggest you grow some balls and talk to her so we can start all talking again like before." Said Naruto in a very blunt tone which caused Sasuke to punch him in the side of the head. He gave a small yelp before falling over and off the side of the bench. Placing a hand behind his head, he chuckled lightly. "Too honest?"

"Yes." Sasuke replied instantly with a glare. "Nothing will be like it was before. Didn't they say she couldn't be in the program anymore because of her handicap?"

"Granny said that she was going to make her but Sakura refused." Naruto informed sitting back down in his previous spot. "When I asked her, she said that it's going to hard but she's won't give in to it."

Sasuke snorted to himself at Naruto recitation of her words. That sounded about something she would say. After all, with his and Naruto's determination and stubbornness to listen when someone gave them an order, she was bound to catch a bit of it. "_So that's her decision_..." He said to himself.

Naruto nodded to himself after repeating Sakura's statement. "Yeah, so I guess we've been a bad influence on her. Mostly you than me but-" He was cut off by Sasuke's blow to his cheek making him return to his previous spot on the ground. The blond looked up to him. "You're going to cause brain damage if you don't quit doing that you know?"

"Right." Sasuke stated sarcastically while rolling his eyes and putting his fist down as Naruto got back up. He put his left hand in his pocket and shut his eyes. Well he knew that he wasn't going to say anything to her just yet. Naruto's previous engagement popped in his mind. "Besides that, what did you and others plan to do anyway?"

The hyper-active boy grinned at him. "We haven't the slightest idea!" He told him honestly and cheerfully. Before he could say anything else, he found himself back on the ground due the quick hit in the head he received from the Uchiha. He held his head. "Dammit, Sasuke!"

"It's your own fault. You're telling me that hunted me down without even knowing what you were going to do?" He crossed his arms sternly why questioning him. When Naruto nodded, Sasuke held back from hitting again. "You really are a giant loser."

"Well to be fair, I only came to get you because the others asked about Team 7 coming to a get together without the jonin. Eventually, Sakura told them she was blind and told me to go. After that, the girls left with her so it was a guys night. If anything, we'll spar and get something to eat." Naruto rubbed his head from the 3 hits from Sasuke.

Sasuke peeked opened an eye when he said sparring. That actually sounded like something he was willing to do. He could get a match in with Lee or Neji or better yet, get a rematch with Naruto. He didn't like how things turned out a few months before. "If it will get you from bothering me, then fine."

"Alright!" Naruto cheered standing up with his grin back on. "Let's go find them. They volunteered to help me find you which was a challenge."

"Just one thing." Sasuke said standing up to look him in the face with a serious expression. "Do they know how Sakura got blind?"

"No." Naruto answered simply and quickly putting his hands behind his head. "Sakura didn't give them details." He avoided that fact that Lee had asked about it but she shrugged it off.

Sasuke started walking with those facts in his mind and Naruto followed behind him. However in his pocket, was the picture of girl who Naruto had forgotten about. He was still wearing the book-bag that Naruto had failed to see

* * *

"There he is!" Choji shouted as Naruto and Sasuke walked by the street which caught their attention. Right behind the chubby ninja, was the rest of the genin squads. "Man, you hard to track down."

"I'm not sure why Hyuuga didn't just use his Byakugan to find us. Wouldn't that have lowered the time it took?" Sasuke inquired loud enough for Neji to hear the question and received a smirk from him in response.

"You should know better than anyone, the effects of abusing a doijutsu like the Byakugan can stress the eyes. Besides, if Naruto couldn't sniff you out, why bother?" Neji responded in a tone which somehow got Sasuke to focus his attention on.

Naruto, not understanding fully what he had said, poked in between them. "So anyway, I thought we could go do some sparring then get something to eat? How about it?"

Shikamaru grunted with a sly smile. "That sounds like a plan to me. These missions so far have been such a drag. They're boring me death." He said turning around.

"Very well." Neji answered plainly with the smirk from before. "Sounds like a blast."

"I'm game. Sounds like a chance to show off some new moves while getting a good training in." Kiba grinned looking down to his companion in his jacket for a confirmation. Akamaru's bark made him nod.

"I haven't had a match in what feels like ages! This should get me feeling that rush Guy-Sensei has always told to achieve!" Lee almost blazing toothy smile make them all squint their eyes.

Choji crossed his arms with a nod. "I guess I'm up for it. As long as we go somewhere good after wards to get something to eat."

Shino adjusted his glasses silently. "Alright. I won't be ignored this way" He agreed but earned some weird looks from the others.

"Then that's it. Let's go." Sasuke stated going into direction of the nearest training ground. "If anything, then this should prove to be interesting."

* * *

"So who's fighting who?" Naruto questioned when they got in the open space. They were in a circle and they sun was right above them so they had time till it got dark.

"I know a way. I'm not exactly the one to fight first so..." Shikamaru squatted down and picked some pieces of grass before standing back up. "We'll all get one and the one with the tallest gets to choose first. Deal?"

They all nodded before grabbing a strand. Shikamaru dropped the rest and everyone inspected their part. Though it was hard to determine, it was Lee who had the tallest.

"Yes, I have the tallest so it is I who gets to choose!" He boasted before stopping for a second. It was only about 5 seconds before he pointed to his competitor. "You are now my opponent, Neji!"

The Hyuuga prodigy sighed. "Whatever. After I bet you, don't tell Guy-Sensei. I've heard enough of you and his love fest earlier."

"I don't know of what you speak of. Guy-Sensei and I only talked about to not let our youth go the waste!" Lee declared. He looked as if it was waves crashing against the shore as he said it. The boys minus Shino gave him a dull look.

* * *

"Alright now, I want you tell us what exactly happened to you, Sakura." Ino stated putting a cup of tea in front of her. Her face had a serious expression on it. "And I'm not leaving till I know. Neither is Hinata and TenTen."

TenTen gave her a half dull and half shocked look. "Ino, that considered kidnapping but she's right. I'm not moving till you tell us everything."

Sakura reached out for the cup sipping it casually with her head down. "There's nothing to tell. I had an accident. No story." She told them putting the tea down. Talking about Sasuke's curse mark wasn't her specialty and she remembered he asked her to keep quiet about it.

"An accident is pricking your finger. Losing your eye sight is a completely different story!" Ino raised her voice a bit at her.

"I-I..." Sakura didn't know how to put it but knew how determined Ino was. She knew her will enough to see that Ino wasn't going to leave without the truth. However, she cared more about keeping a secret then revealing it to her. "I-I...It was an accident. We were in a fight and I reacted to slow."

Ino blinked. She didn't partly believe it but it was believable. "I'll take it. Just let me do one thing." Ino reached over and Sakura let her removed the gauze from both eyes. Hinata, TenTen, and Ino were surprised to see that her former bright green eyes were now a misty greenish gray with a slice line over them. "I-I'm going to go home right quick and grab some gauze from my mom. TenTen come with me,please? Hinata, stay here."

"Okay. We'll be right back." TenTen said as her and Ino left the room. Her voice had a bit of sadness within it.

Sakura touched her face with a sigh. Feeling the scar mark, she put on a grim and dark smile. Though she looked like she wanted to cry, her eyes wouldn't let her shed a single tear. "Hinata? Are you still here?"

"Y-Yes, I am. Is something w-wrong?" The timid girl asked a bit quickly with a mournful glance visible on her face.

Sakura moved her hands around to find Hinata's. Once she found them, Sakura looked at her with the same grim smile. "I know I can trust you with the truth, Hinata. Please..promise me you won't tell anyone."

Hinata swallowed a bit hard at her requested but nodded to herself. "I promise. You have my word."

"D-During the chunin exams, Orochimaru, the one who arranged the attack on the village, came and ambushed us. He gave Sasuke a curse mark that causes him to gain a lot of dangerous power. I'm sure you caught a glance of it in the second round but he looses all since of reason when those marks appears on his body. On our last mission, we ran into trouble and Sasuke was about to kill a man when Naruto and I tried to stop him. He lost control again and..." Sakura paused not knowing how to finish.

The Hyuuga heiress understood exactly what happened and her went slightly wide. "You mean..Sasuke did this..."

Nodding lightly, Sakura lowered her head while tightening her grip on her Hinata a bit. "H-He wasn't in control. He wasn't the Sasuke I known all this time. It was like I was staring at a...a monster. The look in his eyes...it was just blood lust and darkness. The first he was like this, I was able to pull him back but this time was different." She shut her eyes. "Hinata...he must hate me."

"W-Why would he hate you?" Hinata asked confused by her statement. She just said herself that Sasuke wasn't in control of his attacks.

"After he did it...I knew that he tried to help but my body reacted like something was he was going to kill me so I flinched so hard that he didn't touch me..." Sakura confessed bit loudly. "I almost killed him. He had a panic and heart attack at once! If it wasn't Sasuke then he probably wouldn't have survived! Lady Tsunade said..." She wanted to cry so hard but her eyes stopped the tears. "She's said that if he had another one then he wouldn't survive it! It's no wonder why he hasn't even spoke to me!"

Like a reflect, Hinata hugged her and Sakura hugged back. If anything, Hinata was crying herself. She never that Sakura was able to feel such sadness because she had never seen her cry. Now, Hinata knew that if she was able, Sakura would be crying hard. "I-I'm sorry..." She said almost in a whisper trying to hide the fact that she was crying but her voice cracked.

* * *

"I...kicked...your ass...Sasuke..." Naruto said falling backwards on the ground breathing heavily. Sasuke followed suit and Naruto grinned before laughing. "Who..am I kidding...that was a tie..." He admitted.

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk. It wasn't the odds he was hoping for but it did give him a feeling of joy and excitement that he hadn't felt in a long time. "Whatever...you're...still a loser..." He stated sitting up. The other decided to go on ahead while they finished up their fight which took half the afternoon. It was sunset now. Neji had beat Lee and the other fights we declared by rock paper scissors. Shikamaru beat Kiba, Shino beat Choji, and they tied. "So...what now?"

"We get food!" Naruto jumped up with a serious look. "The fight has me hungry to no end! Plus from I skipped lunch cause I still in the hospital." He looked over and saw Hinata running towards him and Sasuke. "Is that Hinata?"

Sasuke stood as the girl slowed to walk up to them. Unlike most times when she saw Naruto, she didn't faint or anything but went and grabbed his hand then Sasuke's. There was a sad and angry look on her face as she pulled them despite their questions to village exit. She then let and turned to them. "W-We're leaving."

"Say what?!"

**Until the next Time! **

**A big shout out and thanks to Jaylen Shields helping me with the memory!**

"**_The memories of the past can help you make new ones for the future."_ **

**-Cherry-Chan**


	3. Power

**A Regret Message**

**3rd Chapter: Power**

"Hold on, Hinata, what are you talking about?" Naruto asked purely lost about Hinata's actions. She really couldn't be serious about this. What exactly had she and Sakura talked about...

Hinata turned around with a serious expression that Naruto had only seen during the round of the chunin exams. "S-Sakura...she told me what happened and...she's so depressed about it." She looked at Sasuke directly. "S-She's thinks you hate her..b-because...she got scared when you tried to help her."

That news surprised the black-haired boy a bunch. He thought that she hated him...that's why he had stayed away from her. How ever Sakura could ever come up with that conclusion was beyond his knowledge. "S-She's thinks I...hate her?"

"Y-Yes." Hinata answered. Though she was being serious, her voice was still a bit timid. "S-She believes it was...her fault that you had a panic and heart-attack. She told me that Lady Hokage s-said that you wouldn't survive if you had another one."

"What!" Yelled both Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke looked at the ground putting hand to his steady beating heart. Tsunade didn't tell him anything about that even though it was part of his body. He focused his gaze back to Hinata while concealing his shocked expression well. "That doesn't explain why you told us that we were leaving.

"I-I talked with Lady H-Hokage and she said t-that there might a b-be a chance for Sakura to see again." Hinata reached in his pocket and took out a picture of a dark gray sunflower which was on a tree branch. "T-This a Ichinosi. I-It has a h-healing sap that L-Lady Hokage can use o-on h-her eyes so she could s-see again. She told me to t-take you both with m-me."

Naruto grinned and nodded. "I'm in! If it means helping Sakura then I'll up for it!" He smiled at Hinata making her blush. "You really are a sweet person, Hinata. I wish there were more girls like you around."

Even though his face didn't show it, Sasuke was just as happy as Naruto. Maybe this way, he could face her knowing that everything was going to be alright. He stuffed his hands into his pocket with a low smirk. "Let's get going then. The quicker we find it the better. Where exactly is it?"

"I-It's in the forest on the o-outskirts of the Fire Country. The hokage s-showed me where and it's about a 3 day travel." Hinata responded while putting the picture in her pocket. "There's a tree t-that only buds a f-few all year-long."

"Right! Let's go find this thing and help Sakura!" Naruto said enthusiastically. "We'll meet here in 30 minutes with everything we will need!" With that they all headed off in different directions.

* * *

Sakura meanwhile was home alone. Her parents hadn't returned from their trip. Ino and TenTen did eventually come back and Ino redid the wraps to cover her eyes before they had to leave. She touched them before laying back on her bed. She knew that she had turned off all the lights before she stumbled to her room.

Since the window was already on her bedside, she went and rested her head on it while trying to listen to the outside. Her hearing had seemed to have gotten better cause she found herself able to hear owls and other things. Mostly crickets.

"Hey, Sakura. How you holding up?" A voice said from outside of her window. It surprised her but she could easily recognize it.

She smiled lightly turning her head to where she heard it come from. "Hi, Kakashi-Sensei. I'm fine it's just...this is a little hard to get use to, you know." She said choking up a bit. "D-Do you know where Sasuke is? I still haven't seen...I meant talked to him yet."

"Can't say that I do. Late this afternoon, he, Naruto, and Hinata were sent on a classified mission by Lady Hokage. They're not going to back for about a week at the least." He explained briefly while leaning on the wall outside of the window frame.

Sakura sat up with shock written across her face. She knew that Sasuke had just got out the hospital but he's already being sent on missions. Plus she already said that she wasn't going to leave the program so why wasn't she on that mission. However, she did know that Sasuke still hadn't spoken to her. "I-I see. Why didn't you go with them?"

"I still have business here in the village." Kakashi answered while giving her his one-eyed smile. "I was thinking since Naruto and Sasuke are gone I might as well give you some training to tighten up your skills and teach you some new stuff so that you can won't be the only one who didn't advance. I noticed that both of them have received a training of some kind so I guess that leaves you."

"Really, Kakashi-Sensei? You're going to train me?" She inquired using an excited tone. Sakura was hoping that he wasn't kidding.

"Sure am. Wait here tomorrow morning at 5:00am and we'll start." Kakashi told her standing up. "See you." He did a hand-sign and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The now-blind kunoichi balled her fist with a determined smile."_Sasuke...Naruto...please be careful. Take care of Hinata. I'll get stronger in the meantime."_

* * *

"I guess we'll top here for tonight and continue on in the morning." Naruto stated as they finally stopped going at full speed through the trees. It had been non-stop since earlier and they were all exhausted. He made a hand-seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He shouted making about 10 more of himself to go find some wood for a fire.

Once they returned, Sasuke used his fire-ball jutsu to light it and they all sat around it after Naruto undid the clones. The Uchiha glanced at Hinata a bit suspiciously after they ate. " Hinata, tell me something. What exactly made you wanna do this in the first place?"

Hinata pulled her knees to her chest staring at the fire. "I-I wanted to help Sakura anyway I could. S-She told me how she believed you w-wouldn't want to be around her anymore. I-I thought that if I could try to get her eye sight back then...that might fix everything."

He was a bit appalled by her answer. Part of him didn't think that anyone would attempt to do anything like this without an order but Hinata actually was doing this by her own free will. "I see. So you are doing this by choice." He blurted out looking down.

"Well Sakura is kinda like... an older sister to me. I did what I think a little sister would do." Hinata confessed with a light smile resting her head on her knees. "I do have a younger sister but we don't talk much..."

"Having siblings sounds nice..." Naruto stated with a low sigh. "I imagine myself having someone to talk to about anything and everything, them being with me when I'm sad-"

"Only for them to stab you in the back in the end." Sasuke cut him off with a hard glare clenching his fist tightly. "I don't need anyone but myself...who needs relatives anyway? They just turn on you."

Hinata looked at him with hints of confusion while Naruto only stared at him. He remembered seeing Sasuke's brother, Itachi, when he went searching for Tsunade. That was person Sasuke was aiming to kill...

"We should get some sleep and head off in the morning. We have a long trip to go." Naruto stated in a low tone while laying down. "Goodnight."

* * *

It was now the middle of the night, almost 3AM and Naruto was having a very gruesome nightmare. He was tossing and turning a lot and sweat was pouring from his head. "N-No...Leave me alone...I don't want to...someone help me..."

Waking up, Hinata looked over and saw that Naruto was murmuring in his sleep. She crawled over and started to shake him and noticed he was really warm. "N-Naruto!" She called in a whisper shaking him. "N-Naruto, wake up!"

He shot up like a rocket which frightened her a bit. She heard him trying to catch his breath and saw water building up in his eyes. Naruto allowed a few to fall before wiping his eyes. He glanced over to her. "H-Hinata?"

"A-Are you alright?" She inquired keeping herself from blushing knowing that it was on its way. "You w-were having a n-nightmare and I thought I-I would wake you up."

He looked at her with a bit of surprise. "Y-You woke me up?" He asked back almost in a whisper. He didn't think anyone cared that much. "T-Thanks..."

"N-No p-problem." She returned with a light pink forming across her cheeks. Fiddling with her fingers, she hesitated hard before talking again. "I-I don't mean t-to pry...but...w-what was your nightmare a-about?"

Naruto shifted slightly looking off to the side. "I-I don't...remember all the details but..." He started off before letting out a sigh. "I was walking in the forest when a lot of people appeared. They chased me to a really high cliff and they were shouting at me. 'Jump!' They said. 'You don't deserve to live' 'You should have died that day' they told me..." Tears began to appear in his sparking blue eyes. "Soon they began pushing me off till I was falling from it. I was just about to hit the ground when you woke me up."

Part of Hinata wanted to cry for him. That sounded like a horrible nightmare. All her life, she's has seen people give Naruto the cold shoulder. Even her own father told her to stay away from him. Another fact she just happened to know was... every year on a certain day people would, mourn over the attack on the village 13 years ago and the adults and some older teenagers would just glare and give Naruto a bunch of death threats and tell him to go die. Unfortunately...it was also the day of his birthday..

"Don't worry though..." Naruto put on a brave smile before wiping his eyes with his sleeve and blinking away the remains. "I'm sure that would never really happen. Thanks for listening to me ramble on. W-We should try to get some sleep."

She nodded. "R-Right. G-Good night, Naruto." Hinata was about to crawl back to her spot when Naruto took her hand making her face light up really pink. "Naruto...?"

He blushed too, looking off to the side. "Um...Hinata...c-can I...sleep beside you? I mean...just in I have a continuation of that d-dream..I'd want someone besides me who could wake me up."

"S-Sure." She agreed smiling and resisting the urge to faint. She fantasized about this a lot but this was not exactly how she pictured it. After he laid down, she followed suit. It wasn't soon before he fell back to sleep. Wanting to see if he was alright still, Hinata turned to look at him and saw he was sleeping peacefully. _"He's so cute while he's sleeping..."_ After watching him for few minutes, she fell asleep herself while blushing .

* * *

"Okay then, Sakura. Time to begin your training. Are you ready?" Kakashi asked as the now blinded girl stood before him on their usual training field. He came and escorted to there because most people were still asleep.

"Yes." She answered with a half serious and half excited face. Receiving her own private training from Kakashi was like a dream come true. "What are you going to teach me today?"

"Well, actually, I'm not going to teach you a thing."

"W-What!?" Sakura asked and shouted at once fuming. So this was just a waste of time...how disappointing... She crossed her arms. "What do you mean? You said that you were going to train me!"

He chuckled patting her head. "Now now, I know I bended the truth a little but you are going to get trained. Just not by me." He stated with a smile.

She uncrossed her arms with a now confused look. "I don't understand. If you aren't training me, then who is?"

"That would be me." A feminine voice said loudly alerting their senses. Sakura's eyes widened recognizing the voice. "Good to see you again, Sakura."

"Lady Tsunade? That is you isn't it?" She questioned turned her body to where she heard the voice. A hand was placed on her shoulder and Sakura smiled knowing that it was her. "You're going to be the one who will train me?"

The female hokage grinned. "Yes, I am. I think you have always had great potential but considering the circumstances with the village, I need Kakashi on stand-by for his next assignment. Plus, you own a power that nobody else in the village has. Unlike most people, you have the will of two people. Have you ever heard another voice inside your head when you do something?"

Question marks appeared over Sakura's head while thinking about it. _"__**Cha! How does she know about me?" **_Inner Sakura stated which made Sakura gasp silently. Did she mean her... "Do you mean Inner me?"

"Exactly." Tsunade answered putting her hands on her hip. "You were born with two souls inside you which is where you get your hair color from. Originally you would have had light red hair like your mother but with the second soul inside you it changed your hair color to pink and somewhat made your forehead a bit larger than others."

A dull look appeared on Sakura's face. "So you mean Inner me is the cause of my gigantic forehead..." She stated in low tone. "_**And we're still pretty awesome!Cha" **_Inner commented.

Tsunade made a straight face. "However...Her power is much stronger than your own. It's like when you gain twice the amount of experience, she gets ten times it. To put it in other terms, she is your inside split personality. Her power might even succeed that of Naruto and Sasuke."

"That's not all." Kakashi stepped into the conversation. "Since you have two people inside you, it's much easier for you to learn things and have them stay in your head. This is when the term 'Two heads are better than one' comes to play. With you and her sharing a body and brain, if you learn it once then you don't have trouble because you understand it and have learned it twice."

"So, I'm going to be teaching you some of my own techniques and at the same time help you learn you to use your Inner self's power whenever you need it." The hokage added with smile. "This is going to be a very gruesome experience. Are you willing to withstand it?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Sakura answered immediately before touching her gauze. "This is isn't a handicap anymore. It's a challenge and I accept all challenges. I'm not going to let Sasuke and Naruto stand in the spotlight any longer and protect me. Now, it's going my turn to be in the limelight and protect them. That's my new nindo. My ninja way!" She declared making a fist. **"**_**Cha! We're going to be so kick-ass! This is going to be so fun!"**_

* * *

"Hey!" Sasuke called to Hinata and Naruto as they travel through the tress. They turned to him right quick not stopping. "I think we should speed up more so that we can cut our time in half! We're at a somewhat slow pace now and moving faster would be better for avoiding traps and ambushes."

Naruto nodded with a grin. "Right! Let's get this show on the...Wow!" In a flash, Naruto got caught in a net which caused Hinata and Sasuke to stop. He pulled out his kunai in an attempt to cut it only for it not to work the slightest. "Guys, it won't cut!"

Before anything else could happened, both Hinata and Sasuke were caught in one to which shocked them dearly. Sasuke pulled out a shirekan and kunai and tried to slice it but it was in vain since nothing worked. "Damn! Why isn't this working?"

"Because it's made from chakra cords, you dummy." A female voice said from a branch beside them. The three ninjas looked and saw a person who looked utterly terrifying. They were wearing a midnight colored black cloak with a hood that covered their face except their mouth and nose. They could tell it was a girl because part of her clock was open revealing her white tank top type shirt and blue ruffled skirt with black shorts under it along with long-white thigh high socks and blue boots. "What are you doing here, Leaf ninja? What your purpose in being in this part of the country?"

"W-We're looking f-for the I-Ichinosi flower!" Hinata spoke up looking at her with a tint of fear. "The H-Hokage said that it was l-located here!"

The girl looked at them before pulling out three kunais. She then through them through the nets causing them the break. The leaf shonobi all fell and landed carefully while eying her suspiciously. She looked about their age. Turning her back, the girl tilted her head to them. "I know where it is. Please follow me."

"H-How do you expect to just follow you just like that?" Naruto shouted at her while pointing. "We don't know if your good or bad, Lady! So why should we trust you?"

"Ask me anything." She said in a simple emotionless tone turning back around to face them. Her hands remained at her side. "I'll answer whatever you want me to."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly. "What village are you from? I don't see any kind symbol that can tell which kind of ninja you are. And also tell me what rank you are."

"I am from the Hidden Tree Village. Our people, the Ichinose Clan, live on very outskirts of the Fire country. We follow orders from both the Hokage and our village's leader." She answered using the same tone of voice which made Naruto a bit suspicious. "I'm sorry but I can't answer your second request. I am very careful not to reveal my rank to strangers."

Naruto pointed at her with small scowl. "Alright, then tell who you are exactly!" He demanded with much authority in his voice.

The girl was silent for a second before speaking. "I can't answer that either. At least, not out here in the open. I ask you to follow me to my village where we can speak more privately. Even the trees have ears around this place." She turned and started walking.

When she did, Naruto growled and ran up to her. "Hey, just hold on a second!" He shouted as he did and pulled her by the cloak causing it to fall off. The girl gasped slightly before her shoulder-length blond hair fell down. It was some red streaks in it and when she turned to look at him, they saw that she had forest green eyes that almost resembled Narutos.

Saying nothing, she picked up the cloak and put it back on but kept the hood down. "See. I'm human just like you. You have my word that I won't betray you. Please follow me." She said simply walking again. This time they just followed her without another word but their guards remained up.

It wasn't long before they reached her village. They had to admit. It was almost as big as their village. It had a very high shrubbery but an arch made for people to come in and out. When they walked through, the villagers all gathered around to them. The children especially went up the girl.

"Milady, Welcome home! We missed you so much! How were your adventures?" They said at once. They all sent questioning look towards her as she ruffled their heads making them laugh.

"Thank you very much, Young ones. They were amazing as usual. I'll tell you all about of them some other time. Now run along to finish your studies, all of you." She told them and the almost immediately. A villager ran up to her before getting on one knee bowing. "It's good to see you, Natuki. How has the village been since I left?"

"Everything is still in tip-top shape, Milady. I'm happy to tell you that the playground for the children is finally built and is waiting for you to open it." He said with a light smile. "Whenever your ready, we can do it any time."

"In a few days. There are still something things I must see too. Like our allies from the leaf here." The girl said in a plain voice. "In the meantime, please see to it that no one gets into it without my say-so, alright?"

He nodded. "Whatever you say. Still, it's nice to have you back, Milady." He stated again before leaving.

The girl turned to them with a light smile. "I'm sorry about that. Sometimes I get a bombarded by people after I return from traveling for a while. "

"Why is that?" Sasuke asked with signs of doubt undetectable in his voice while his eyes narrowed at her. Something about her made him feel a bit uneasy.

"We can speak once we reach the office. That way we can finish our conversation in peace." She said instead before showing them to the largest building. Once inside, they followed her into a room which was bit similar to the Hokage's. There was a large desk with paperwork stacked neatly on the side. A small table on the other side of the room with somewhat small kitchen and pillows for people to sit. "Please sit while I put on some tea."

After the tea was made, they all sat down. The girl sat on the opposite side of the table while the three sat next to each other with it being Sasuke, Naruto, then Hinata.

"Isn't this like your leader's room? What are we doing in here?" Naruto asked her as she sipped her tea. "I mean, couldn't you get into a lot of trouble if they find us here?"

"Why would they? I could do whatever I please in it." She answered simply.

"So are you the village leader's granddaughter or daughter or niece or something like that so you wouldn't get in trouble if you were here alone?" Naruto questioned again a bit confused about her earlier answer. He didn't even recall Konohamaru able to this when the 3rd Hokage was alive.

She giggled at him. "I don't you understand. This is my office so I could do whatever I please." Putting the cup down she smiled at them. "My name is Cherry Kamizu. I'm am the leader of village hidden in the trees."

* * *

**Until the next time!**

**Also, to my wonderful readers! Please check out my poll and vote for my next story that you want me to write or just PM your ideas! And I apologize in advance for using my name for the girl. I had no other name so please don't give up on me. It will get better I promise!**

"**You're mind has to power to do things that your body can't."**

**- Cherry**


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